Dec 6 (DN) In a historic achievement for Sri Lankan diving, 24-year-old Dulanjan Fernando set a new national record in the 3m springboard diving event at the CAMO International Invitation Plongeon held in Montreal in Canada from November 30 to December 3. This accomplishment not only marked a personal milestone for Fernando but also earned him recognition from the prestigious World Aquatics, making him the third Sri Lankan diver to achieve such global acclaim. more..

Dec 6 (TM) A shortage of SL Administrative Service (SLAS) officers at the Dept of Immigration and Emigration is exacerbating the timely issuance of passports. Meanwhile, sources within the department claim that there is a significant backlog to issue passports, with thousands of applicants yet to receive theirs due to an ongoing shortage of new passports � a claim the subject minister, Minister Tiran Alles said more..

Dec 5 (FT) The Annual International Conference of the Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA) is scheduled to be held on 8 and 9 December at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) Auditorium in Colombo. While the conference theme of the year is Transforming Agriculture for Economic Revival in Sri Lanka, the inaugural address will be delivered by World Bank Senior Agricultural Economist John Keyser. more..

Dec 6 (Island) Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe lashed out at SJB MP Rishad Bathiudeen, on Monday, for having cursed a judge while making a speech in Parliament recently. He dismissed as baseless Bathiudeen�s claim that the judge concerned heard only cases involving former Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa. He is right in having taken up the cudgels for the rights of the judges whose reputations are dragged through the mud in Parliament. Vitriolic attacks that some MPs more..

Dec 6 (GV) The Welfare Benefits Board (WBB) called for applications last year for people to be included in the new registry that will bring all the current benefits schemes under one platform names Aswesuma. In 2023, the WBB began an enumeration exercise whereby all those who applied to receive welfare benefits were scored across a 22 indicator list to determine their eligibility. According to the WBB, 3.7 million applications were received to be included in this registry. more..

Dec 5 (CT) Investigations have been launched into a well-coordinated scam involving the stealing of money from bank accounts of cancer patients, who seek donations for surgery and other treatment, the Computer Crime Investigation Division of the CID informed Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis yesterday (5). This announcement follows an incident where approximately Rs 3.8 million was fraudulently withdrawn from a bank account of a cancer patient in Kaduwela. more..

Dec 6 (FT) FPC member and MP Prof. Charitha Herath issued a warning, expressing concern about an impending constitutional crisis in the country. MP said that in each constitutional amendment since the 17th amendment to the constitution, there has been deliberation on limiting the powers of the Executive, ultimately leading to the establishment of the Constitutional Council under the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. more..

Dec 5 (EN) SriLankan Airlines organized a special tour of the island for journalists from India�s mainstream print and news media to promote Sri Lanka as one of India�s premier tourist destinations. The journalists toured the country from Nov 19-24 and took the opportunity to experience Colombo�s cultural attractions, local cuisine, Sri Lanka�s beaches, nature trails, shopping and nightlife. The journalists were from metro cities of India like Cochin, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi. more..

Dec 6 (TM) The SL Thriposha Limited Company said that the manufacturing of the Thriposha nutritional supplement for children is to be resumed according to standards followed by international organisations, since the company received the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the request made to revise the aflatoxins level. When contacted to query about the alleged halt of Thriposha manufacturing, the Thriposha Company�s Chairman Deepthi Kularathna said that only the manufacturing more..

Dec 5 (TM) The SJB proposed that the education system should be transformed into an English-centred education system while enhancing opportunities in quality private education institutions. SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa said that the education system must be modernised in a way which could cater to the requirements of new global trends, adding that this exercise should not be hampered with traditional concepts. more..

Dec 5 (ST) Residents of Panadura say that the authorities have neglected to repair the pedestrian path along the railway bridge built over the Bolgoda River near the Panadura Railway Station. A few days ago one person had fallen off the decayed planks making up the bridge, and died. Thousands of school children and people cross the bridge on a daily basis. Residents say that many people, including school children, have fallen off the bridge on several occasions. more..

Dec 5 (FT) Minister Harin Fernando urged the private sector to be innovative and lure more tourists as the Govt�s role was only to ensure an enabling environment. His call to the tourism industry was made at the launch of SL�s first ever destination marketing campaign in 15 years titled you�ll come back for more. Award winning creative agency Ogilvy developed the campaign based on multiple insights including that over 30% of tourists coming into SL are repeat travellers. more..

Dec 6 (DN) In a historic moment for SL judo, Italy-based judoka Rajitha Nuwarapaksha secured the 128th spot in the world rankings, marking the highest achievement by a SL judo player. This remarkable feat was accomplished at the Judo Grand Slam Tokyo 2023, held in Tokyo from December 1 to 5. Starting the tournament with a world ranking of 211, Rajitha faced the formidable Nurbek Murtozoev from Uzbekistan, ranked 52 globally. In an intense bout lasting over three minutes, more..

Dec 6 (DN) The move to host the Under 19 world cup championship from Sri Lanka to South Africa gives much needed exposure for Sri Lanka under 19 players. Our young players have to get that advantage said former Sri Lanka deputy skipper and Master Batsman Aravinda de Silva. I think Sri Lankan players should play cricket on neutral wickests overseas and youngsters should realize the importance of this, said De Silva who was one time captain of National team at the World Cup. more..

Dec 6 (FT) Exports in October dipped by 18% year-on-year (YoY) to the lowest in five months provisional data released by the EDB revealed, reinforcing private sector concerns on mounting challenges. October merchandise export performance was $ 899.91 million, down by 17.85% from a year ago. The previous lowest was in April at $ 814.13 million. SL saw 2023�s highest export performance in Augof $ 1.09 billion more..

Dec 6 (Island) Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha told Parliament that he would take steps to recruit over 2,000 university lecturers to fill vacancies in the university system. Minister said that the universities needed about 12,000 lecturers to operate optimally and that there were now only about 9,000 teachers. Funds had been allocated from the previous budget for recruiting 854 lecturers to replace those who had retired or left the country, Minister said. more..

Dec 6 (FT) The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of SL yesterday announced a pivotal advancement in public service delivery with the launch of the Digital Govt Forms solution. This ground-breaking initiative promises to revolutionise the way Govt services are accessed and delivered throughout SL. Digital Govt Forms project, funded under the World Bank�s Contingent Emergency Response Components (CERC) Initiative & successfully piloted in Dec 2022, more..

Dec 6 (Island) Sri Lanka Under 19 coach Jehan Mubarak said that his charges taking part in the Under 19 Asia Cup and the subsequent Youth World Cup are tasked with a huge responsibility of living up to public expectations. �We are grooming them to be responsible at a young age so that one day they will try to live up to the expectations of the public when they represent the senior national team,� Mubarak said in an interview with The Island on the eve of the team�s departure to Dubai. more..

Dec 6 (Reuters) Sri Lanka will get about $600 million, on a staggered basis, from the Asian Development Bank after the IMF releases the second tranche of a $2.9 billion bailout for the crisis-hit country, an official said on Tuesday. Sri Lanka is inching out of its worst financial crisis in decades, triggered by record-low foreign exchange reserves last year that saw its economy contract 7.8% in 2022. The island's economy has been gradually stabilising after more..

Dec 6 (DM) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe is reported to be mulling prorogation of Parliament by the middle of January, next year. Once Parliament is prorogued, pending businesses before the House will lapse, and the new Parliament, once convened by the Prez, has to resume them afresh. Speaker and the MPs will continue to function. Prez can prorogue Parliament for a maximum period of two months. more..

Dec 5 (DM) SL Taekwondo Federation (SLTF) will conduct an Int'l Taekwondo Championship at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo, commencing tomorrow. The opening ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. and the meet will conclude on Dec 12. The SLTF has taken steps to hold three Int'l Taekwondo events and one Int'l Conference from Dec 7-12 during this tournament. Nearly 100 officials including competitors from eight South Asian countries and several Asian countries more..

Dec 6 (DN) Sri Lanka has been ranked among the top five fastest growing tourism destinations for 2024, by the world-renowned travel guide, the Travel Off Path. With regards to Sri Lanka Travel Off Path says Sri Lanka has long fascinated travellers from around the world thanks to its exotic nature, warm climate, colorful culture, and amazing food. �Sri Lanka has reported strong tourism figures throughout 2023, with visitors from the United States being among the largest groups. more..

Dec 5 (TM) Attorney General (AG) informed the Court of Appeal (CA) on Monday that intelligence agencies had uncovered information regarding an alleged conspiracy to assassinate the former Director of the CID, SSP Shani Abeysekara, by staging an accident while he was travelling. Additional Solicitor General Rohantha Abeysuriya, who appeared on behalf of the AG, revealed this to the Court when writ petition more..

Dec 6 (EN) Ministry of Higher Education said they had received 21 complaints of ragging in state universities since the establishment of a special hotline a couple of months ago. �There have been complaints of physical, sexual and verbal harassment,� Secretary to the Minister of Higher Education, Dilshan Jayakody said. �We are currently unable to differentiate the figures as to the types of harassment.� In Sept, SL Police established a special hotline to report ragging. more..

Dec 6 (FT) In the grand scheme of things, a monk and a quack draping a robe on a Buddha statue may seem silly, at most. Even if the statue is a 1,500-year-old work of art. SL, contrary to Prez Wickremesinghe�s assertions, is still teetering on the rotten-bridge, a bankrupt country with fractious leaders and no good options. What does one act of vandalism matter? What is significant is what didn�t happen. According to the law, the quack who masterminded the robe-draping at Avukana more..

Dec 6 (AD) Court of Appeal today ordered the CID to produce Harak Kata before a suitable Magistrate�s Court if the evidence against him is insufficient to keep him in custody on detention orders. This was communicated when a petition filed by the notorious underworld figure Nadun Chinthaka Wickremeratne alias Harak Kata was taken up before the court earlier today. Judge bench also dismissed the petition filed by Harak Kata seeking a writ order invalidating the detention order more..

Dec 6 (FT) The final vote in Parliament on Budget 2024 is scheduled for 13 Dec evening after 19 days of debate at Committee Stage. It was endorsed with a majority vote of 45 with 122 voting for the Budget at its second reading. How many of these 224 MPs leaving out the Speaker has ever questioned the legality of the Budget? To date, none in Parliament, including the JVP that vows to establish a clean and corruption free economy and claims it is they alone who could clean this nauseatingly more..

Dec 6 (EN) SL will set minimum standards for private university degrees like for state universities through a unit of proposed new education commission to ensure high quality while encouraging private investments, Minister Susil Premajayantha said. Starting private universities is strongly opposed by undergraduate unions in state universities and left minded political parties. They say the move will drain the best academics more..

Dec 6 (FT) SJB MP Harsha de Silva underscored the necessity of establishing a competitive economy capable of competing on the international stage, emphasising that SL�s success hinges on this imperative. MP noted that the SJB is actively pursuing the fundamental idea of fostering a manufacturing-based economy in Sri Lanka and is in the process of implementing a program aimed at penetrating the global market through this manufacturing-focused approach. more..

Dec 6 (PMD) SL Youth Statement to COP28, which was presented for the 28th UN Conference on Climate Change, was presented to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe recently. Mr. Pasindu Gunaratne, Chairman of the National Youth Service Council and Head of the SL Youth Delegation, presented this manifesto to Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat. The youth declaration comprises 10 crucial recommendations addressing the impacts of climate change along with more..

Dec 6 (AD) Former DIG, Nalaka de Silva has been released in the case filed over the alleged VIP assassination plot in 2019. Colombo Fort Magistrate gave orders to release de Silva after the Attorney General informed the court that insufficient evidence was found to support the allegations. In Sept 2018, Director of Anti-Corruption Movement, Namal Kumara had exposed an alleged conspiracy and the purported conversations on more..

Dec 6 (DM) Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha and MP Rishad Bathiudeen engaged in a heated argument in Parliament today on the remarks that both of them had made on a judge on an earlier day. MP Bathiudeen who was referring to a remark made by Minister Rajapakasha that he had insulted a certain judge, said no name had been mentioned by him. �Minister Rajapaksha said I cursed a certain judge the other day. I must say I never cursed anyone and besides I did not mention any more..

Dec 6 (AD) Sagala Ratnayaka, Chief of Presidential Staff, has called for reports on the progress and future plans of the Beira Lake Development Project to the Prez by Dec 15. Additionally, Ratnayake instructed the relevant head of institutions to promptly provide a report on the Colombo City beautification plan and its current status for immediate submission to the Prez. These directives were issued during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat on more..

Dec 6 (FT) Seylan bank has introduced SL�s first Signfluencer with the aim to advocate recognition for sign language and support the user community by creating an opportunity to unlock their potential in the social media platforms. Seylan bank�s Signfluencer campaign creates a spotlight on the need to acknowledge the hearing-impaired community and provide effective communication channels to understand their requirements. In addition to better serve this important more..

Dec 6 (CT) With the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) blaming the Traffic Police, National Hospital, Colombo is faced with the dilemma of traffic congestion, in and around Hospital Square, blocking even ambulances from entering through the gates. NHSL Deputy Director, Dr. Rukshan Bellana lamented that the entry point into Hospital square, from Regent, on both sides of the road were blocked mainly by three-wheelers which were either awaiting hires or were dropping off or picking patients. more..